In an instant, every sound vanished.
Dozens of gazes snapped toward the entrance.
A young man in black stood there, hands behind his back. His sharply defined face carried a cold edge, his eyes blazing with intensity.
It was Lin Chen.
“Don’t agree?” Lin Xu sneered. “The Lin Family has fallen into decline because of you and your father, and you still dare to argue?!”
Lin Chen’s expression remained calm as he said, “It’s true the Lin Family declined because of us. However, when my father first took over as patriarch, what kind of miserable state was the Lin Family in? Do I need to remind you?”
Everyone froze. Old memories resurfaced.
Lin Xu’s expression twitched, turning extremely unnatural.
“At that time, the Lin Family was nothing more than a minor clan in Luoyun City. My father fought countless experts and rose by force, bringing the Lin Family into the ranks of the three great families.”
“Since my birth, I have been the number one genius in Luoyun City, contributing greatly to the Lin Family.”
“One should not forget the one who dug the well after drinking the water, yet you, Lin Xu, want my father and me to die to atone. Do you think the ancestors would agree?!”
Lin Chen’s voice struck like thunder, shaking everyone present.
Lin Xu and Lin Hu’s expressions changed drastically, and the entire hall fell into silence.
Even the elders who had colluded with Lin Xu found it hard to speak.
However, Lin Xu had come prepared. There was no way he would back down so easily.
“You and your father, one gravely injured and near death, the other reduced to a cripple, how can you possibly lead the Lin Family to rise again…” Before he could finish, Lin Chen interrupted, “Gravely injured does not mean he cannot recover. Great Elder Lin Xu, your words are too absolute.”
Ignoring that, Lin Xu pressed on coldly, “Regardless of Lin Zhan’s injuries, your spiritual root has been taken, and your cultivation is gone. You are no longer fit to be the heir of the Lin Family.”
His words struck like a steel needle into Lin Chen’s heart.
Lin Xu had already realized that to deal with Lin Zhan, he had to deal with Lin Chen first. Otherwise, Lin Chen would dismantle his plans with just a few words.
Lin Chen asked calmly, “Great Elder Lin Xu, then who do you propose should become the heir?”
Lin Xu burst into laughter. “Naturally, the position should go to someone capable.”
Lin Chen raised his hand without hesitation and pointed directly at Lin Hu. “From your tone, it seems you believe your son is capable?”
Lin Hu immediately straightened his back and said proudly, “I am already at the 7th stage Spirit Realm, and I will break through again soon. I am a hundred times stronger than you. The position of heir should have been mine long ago!”
His arrogance was unmistakable.
Lin Xu smiled and added, “One should not avoid relatives when recommending talent. If my son is capable, then naturally he should take the position.”
Lin Chen laughed, but there was nothing warm in it. Only coldness.
“What a well-calculated plan.”
Lin Xu’s face darkened as he stared at Lin Chen and shouted, “Lin Chen, as the Great Elder of the Lin Family, everything I do is for the family’s future. My son is now the number one genius of the Lin Family. If you refuse to accept him as heir, then we will proceed according to clan rules!”
Clan rules.
Everyone’s expressions tightened.
According to Lin Family rules, anyone who wished to compete for the position of heir could issue a challenge. The winner would take the position.
If Lin Hu challenged Lin Chen…
Could Lin Chen, now stripped of cultivation, possibly withstand it?
“Father, why use a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken? I will challenge Lin Chen!”
A sudden voice rang out.
Lin Chen turned his gaze.
The speaker was Lin Song, Lin Xu’s second son and Lin Hu’s younger brother.
He was at the 3rd stage Spirit Realm and had often relied on the Lin Family’s name to indulge himself and cause trouble. Time and again, it had been Lin Chen who cleaned up his messes.
Now that Lin Chen had lost his spiritual root and become a cripple, Lin Song eagerly stepped forward to be the first to challenge him. If his father and brother took control of the Lin Family later, he would earn great merit.
“You? And you dare bark here?” Lin Chen glanced at him coldly, not even bothering to look at him properly.
Trash like him wasn’t worth it.
Enraged by the disdain, Lin Song shouted, “Lin Chen, you’re already a cripple, yet you’re still so arrogant? I challenge you. Do you dare accept?”
His chin was raised high, his arrogance overflowing.
Lin Chen sneered and flicked his sleeve. “Dog, come and die.”
“You’re courting death!”
Fury erupted in Lin Song’s eyes as he roared, “Lin Chen, you’re about to die and still pretending? Get down for me!”
Before his words finished, he burst forward. His body shot out like a fully drawn bow, his fist cutting through the air as it charged straight toward Lin Chen’s face.
“Yellow-grade mid-tier spiritual technique, Mountain-Crushing Fist!”
The spiritual energy of a 3rd stage Spirit Realm cultivator poured out without restraint. The force of the punch was immense, even causing faint explosive sounds in the air.
Lin Hu and Lin Xu exchanged glances, cruel smiles forming on their lips.
With that punch, even if Lin Chen didn’t die, he would be crippled for life.
However, facing such a fierce attack, just as the fist wind was about to touch his nose…
Lin Chen moved.
No fancy evasion. No unnecessary motion.
He simply raised his hand, clenched his fingers into a fist, and struck.
Moving later, arriving first.
Boom!!!
The two fists collided violently in midair.
An invisible shockwave burst outward, sweeping in all directions.
Nearby tables and chairs shattered into dust instantly. The Lin Family disciples standing close by were thrown off their feet, shouting in alarm.
Crack!
A chilling sound of bones breaking echoed through the entire hall.
Under everyone’s horrified gaze, Lin Song’s fist, wrapped in spiritual energy, exploded apart.
Yet Lin Chen’s attack did not stop. Carrying overwhelming force, it surged forward and slammed heavily into Lin Song’s chest.
Bang!
Lin Song didn’t even have time to regret. His body was struck as if by a siege hammer and sent flying backward.
Boom!
The wall trembled violently, dust rising into the air.
Lin Song’s body smashed into the thick stone wall of the clan hall. His chest collapsed, blood pouring from his mouth. He couldn’t even scream before his eyes rolled back, and he fainted on the spot.
One punch.
Utter destruction.
The entire hall fell into deathly silence.
Even the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.
The Lin Family disciples who had been waiting to watch a joke now stood frozen, mouths wide open, eyes nearly popping out, as if an invisible hand had gripped their throats.
How was this possible?!
That was Lin Song, a 3rd stage Spirit Realm cultivator!
Yet Lin Chen, the so-called cripple, had defeated him like swatting a fly with a single punch?!
The cold smile on Lin Xu’s face froze instantly. He shot up from his seat, staring at Lin Song, his pupils shrinking violently.
Pure physical strength? How could this brat possess such terrifying explosive power?!
Seated at the head, Lin Zhan’s hand tightened around the armrest, trembling slightly. Hope reignited in his eyes.
Chen’er… not crippled?!
Amid the stunned gazes, Lin Chen slowly withdrew his fist and casually brushed off dust that wasn’t even there.
He turned, his icy gaze locking onto Lin Hu as he said calmly, “Take him away. Next.”
Lin Hu suddenly stood up and shouted, “Lin Chen, you’ve gone too far. Now, I challenge you. Do you dare accept?”
Lin Chen looked at him, a trace of killing intent flashing in his eyes as he sneered, “Why wouldn’t I? But if you win, you walk away unharmed. If I lose, it’s the abyss. Just deciding victory is too cheap for you.”
“What else do you want? I’ll accept it!” Lin Hu’s face was filled with ruthlessness.
A faint smile curved on Lin Chen’s lips. “In that case, I set the time. This battle will decide not only victory, but life and death.”
An uproar exploded through the hall like thunder.
Everyone stared at Lin Chen in shock.
No one had expected him to be so decisive, to challenge Lin Hu to a life-and-death battle.